Don Canham Timeline

April 27, 1918	Born in Chicago, Ill., to parents Ernest and Mary Burrell Canham
1936	State of Illinois indoor high hurdles champion, and indoor and outdoor high jump champion
1937	Graduated from Oak Park High School (Ill.)
January 1938	Enrolled at the University of Michigan (spent fall term trying to earn a spot on the University of Southern California track team)
1939-40-41	U-M letterman, track and field
1939-41	U-M high jump record holder, indoor and outdoor
1940	NCAA high jump national champion (6-7 1/4) Big Ten Conference high jump champion, indoor and outdoor
1941	Michigan Track and Field team captain Big Ten Conference high jump champion, indoor and outdoor
1941	Earned Bachelor of Science degree in physical education, history, science
Aug. 1941-Feb. 1942	Teacher (history) and basketball and football coach, Kankakee High School (Ill.)
Jan. 1942-Spring 1946	Served in U.S. Air Force, enlisted as Private and discharged as Captain
March 1946-June 1948	Assistant track and field coach under Ken Doherty, University of Michigan
1948	Earned Master of Arts, University of Michigan
1948-68	Appointed Michigan track and field head coach by AD Fritz Crisler Won 12 Big Ten Championships (7 indoor, 4 outdoor, 1 cross country) Finished runner-up 14 times Coached World and American Indoor record-setting distance medley relay team Coached World Record four-mile relay team
1954	Director of NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
1954	Founded Champions on Film, a small instructional film company. Evolved into Don Canham Enterprises, Inc. which is now School-Tech. Manufactures and distributes instructional films, and recreational and educational athletic equipment. Based in Ann Arbor.
1956	Coach of a combined African track team at the Melbourne Olympic Games as part of a U.S. State Department program
1958-59	President, National Collegiate Track Coaches Association
1960	Served as a consultant for the U.S. Army in Germany
1962	Founded the U.S. Track and Field Federation with Bill Bowerman (U. of Oregon) and Oliver Jackson (Abilene Christian College)
1962-66	Member, NCAA Rules Committee Member, National Executive Committee of U.S. Track and Field Federation
1965-69	Member, U.S. Olympic Committee (Track and Field Committee)
1965-67	Directed first NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship in Detroit. In 1966 and 1967, the meet became the most successful indoor meet in track and field history with gross revenues over $80,000 per year. Profits were returned to the competing schools. Chairman, NCAA Indoor Championship Site Committee Director, NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships
1968-88	Appointed U-M Athletic Director, succeeding Fritz Crisler
1987	Inducted into the Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor
1988	Inducted into the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Hall of Fame
2005	Recipient of U-M's Gerald R. Ford Award, the highest honor bestowed upon a former student-athlete by the Athletic Department
May 3, 2005	Died in Ann Arbor, Mich.

University of Michigan Athletics

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